Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Henrico Parish (Va.) [cite specific record used and dates]. Accession [cite specific accession no. used]. Church records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Accession 13874, gift of John Hart, 19 June 1918
Accession 20315, lent for copying by the Vestry of St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia, 21 April 1931
Accession 20339, lent for copying by the Vestry of St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia, 30 June 1931
Accession 21645-21646, lent for copying by Dr. Churchill J. Gibson, St. James Church, Richmond, Virginia, 1939.
Accession 25292, gift of Monumental Church of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, 7 March 1961.
Accession 28068, lent for copying by St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia, through Reverend J. Carleton Hayden, Dept. of History, Howard University, Washington, D.C., 21 July 1973
Accession 28309, lent for copy by W. N. Glen, Richmond, Virginia, 10 June 1974
Accession 30518, lent for microfilming by the Virginia Historical Society, 26 January 1967

Biographical/Historical Information

Henrico Parish dates from 1611 with the founding of Henricopolis. The county of Henrico was one of the original shires of 1634 and at the time lay on both sides of the James River, extending indefinitely westward from the Charles City County line. Henrico Parish was coterminous with the county. Although very early records have not survived, St. John's Church records begin in 1730 and are records of the whole of Henrico Parish to 1770.

St. John's Church, completed 10 June 1741, was in reality the fourth church in the parish and did not for some time become the main parish church. Throughout the earlier records it is referred to as the New Church, the Church on Richmond Hill, the Town Church, or simply the Church. Not until 1829 was it identified as St. John's Church. For more information see, A Story of St. John's Church, Henrico Parish, 1607-1964, by Grace E. Taliaferro, 1968.

St. James Episcopal Church had been in the process of organization for a few years before the cornerstone was laid on 2 April 1838, at I (now Marshall) and 5th streets. In 1831, a group of churchmen agreed that the western part of Richmond needed an Episcopal Church and in 1835 land was conveyed for its construction. The church was consecrated on 23 June 1839.

St. Philip's Church, an African-American church established in 1861, was originally located on North Fourth street between Leigh and Jackson streets. The congregation ceased to exist in 1865, probably due to the burning of Richmond at the end of the Civil War, but in 1866, it applied for admittance to Council. A new church was erected in 1870 on the corner of Foushee (now St. James) and Leigh streets and a brick structure was built in 1896. In 1959, St. Philip's Church purchased the buildings of the Church of the Epiphany on the corner of Hanes Avenue and Essex Street.

Monumental Episcopal Church was built in 1814 on the site of the Richmond Theater, which burned to the ground on 26 December 1811. The church was erected as a memorial to the seventy-two victims of the fire, including the governor of Virginia, George William Smith.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was the successor of the Belvidere Mission School begun in March 1874 as a mission of the St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The school grew so rapidly that each new quarters became too small. With assistance from the Vestry of St. Paul's Church, construction of a new school and chapel began on 29 April 1875. The new church was consecrated by Bishop F.M. Whittle of the Diocese of Virginia on 30 December 1877. In 1884, St. Andrew's Church became a mission church of the Diocese and elected its first vestry. Financial support from St. Paul's was reduced in 1887 and discontinued in 1888.

Scope and Content Information

Accession 20339a - St. John's Church vestry book, 28 October 1730-17 December 1773. Processioning records, 1735-1760, are included in the minutes. A few births and deaths follow the minutes. This volume is bound with Accession 20339b and 20339c. The majority of these entries are transcribed in, Annals of Henrico Parish . . . History of St. John's P.E. Church [1611-1904], edited and compiled by J. Staunton Moore, 1904. Also available on microfilm (Accession 30518a; Misc. reel 423).

Accession 20339b - St. John's Church vestry book, 1807, 12 May 1812-16 December 1817. Volume begins with the 16 December 1817 minutes, followed by the 1807 meeting; afterwards the meetings are in chronological order. Most of the vestry meetings are also recorded in Accession 20315. This volume is bound with Accession 20339a and c. The majority of these entries are transcribed in, Annals of Henrico Parish . . . History of St. John's P.E. Church [1611-1904], edited and compiled by J. Staunton Moore, 1904. Also available on microfilm (Accession 30518d; Misc. reel 423).

Accession 20339c - St. John's Church register, 1785-1791, 1808, 1810, 1815-1860. List of marriages, 1785-1791, solemnized by the Reverends John Buchanan and Benjamin Blagrove, compiled from the Ministers' Returns filed in the Henrico County Clerk's Office and five marriages abstracted from the Richmond Enquirer (1808, 1810, 1816, and 1817) precede the regular marriage entries beginning in 1815. This volume is bound with Accession 20339a and b. The majority of these entries are transcribed in, Annals of Henrico Parish . . . History of St. John's P.E. Church [1611- 1904], edited and compiled by J. Staunton Moore, 1904.

Accession 20315 - St. John's Church vestry book, 28 March 1785-29 April 1795, 1807, 12 May 1812-5 April 1887. These minutes are of particular interest because of the long period covered. Also available on microfilm (Accession 30518b; Misc. reel 423).

Accession 30518c - St. John's Church vestry book, 11 April 1887-6 March 1900. Available on microfilm (Misc. reel 423).

Accession 13874 - Female Charitable Association of St. John's Church records, 31 December 1828-27 January 1831, consisting of the association's constitution, list of members, and minutes.

Accession 21645 - St. James Episcopal Church register, 1837-1855, including baptisms, marriages, funerals, communicants, confirmations, families, and financial records showing collections and disbursements for the Charity Fund. Accession 30101 is the manuscript copy of this volume.

Accession 21646 - St. James Episcopal Church register, 1853-1889. This is a well organized and well kept register showing baptisms (with birth dates), marriages, burials, confirmations, communicants, parishioners, and offerings. Additional marriage records follow offerings. Accession 30100 is the manuscript copy of this volume.

Accession 28068a - St. Philips's Church history, n.d. This item is bound with Accession 28068b-d.

Accession 28068b-d - St. Philips's Church vestry books, 24 May 1869-2 May 1887 ; 7 April 1888-7 July 1892 ; 22 March 1895-5 February 1904. Register entries are found in the first volume, and miscellaneous material in the third volume extends the date range to 1941. These volumes are bound with Accession 28068a.

Accession 25292 - Monumental Episcopal Church of Richmond deeds of lease and release, 9 May, 10 May 1814. Deed of lease, William Marshall, Robert Johnston, John Dunsmure, Patrick Gibson, William Fenwick and John Richard to John Brockenbrough, Michael W. Hancock and John Gamble. Deed of release, same to same.

Accession 28309 - St. Andrew's Episcopal Church consecration by Bishop Whittle, 30 December 1877.